, now, the highly respected general who commands forces in afghanistan, john allen, accused of exchanging potentially inappropriate e-mails with tampa socialite jill kelley. but after the pentagon's dramatic announcement about allen earlier this week, overnight, the defense secretary seemed to be backing off. >> no one should leap to any conclusions here. general allen is doing an excellent job at isaf. he certainly has my continued confidence. >> reporter: an echo of what the white house said tuesday. >> i can tell you that the president thinks very highly of general allen and his service to his country. as well as the job he's done in afghanistan. >> reporter: officials tell abc news, that the vast number of e-mails allen exchanged with jill kelley, who sparked the fbi investigation into broadwell and petraeus, show no evidence of any sexual relations. but are friendly and, perhaps, a bit flirtatious. in one note, kelly telling allen she saw him on tv. he responds, thanks, dear. you're a sweetheart. meanwhile, david petraeus' sudden departure as cia director has created lo
